a muse studio plays well with others...

you can now officially shop from anywhere, online, in my a must studio consultant shop!

welcome back to my little a muse studio launch blog party! a muse studio happens to sell some awesome pattern papers, damask, mini gingham, polka dots and a few more, but i am a total paper addict and love to use scrapbook paper from all my favorite manufacturers too!

the infamous "to go" cup! i use this guy alllllll the time for every holiday, season and general card that i can think up because it's just so fun to paper piece! and now, with the launch of a muse studio it's been re-released in cling rubber with a whole bunch of perfect sentiments, an espresso machine and a couple of mugs in a set called, "the perfect blend." i love it so much, that this set was even in my friday faves!

(french roast ink pad, foam tape, onyx paper for the card base)

i am loving these bright, cheery colors right now, along with the mix of stripes and florals, blame it on the "botanica" section at anthropolgie! this brand new, "life is a song" stamp set is quickly becoming a new favorite for me, kind of for the same reason that i love "the perfect blend" so much, it's great for all ocassions, color combinations and super easy to use! it comes with 4 different birdcages and 2 interchangable chains, 3 birds, these cute music notes and a whole slew of sayings that can be mixed and matched. there is also a really nice "with sympathy" sentiment in this set. for this card i used a line of onyx twinkle stickers to make my own chain! it's nice that they come on a line of adhesive so that you don't have to worry about lining them up straight!

(tuxedo black memento ink pad, papaya ink pad, onyx twinkle stickers, cherry solid paper for the card base)

ohemgeethesepeeps! i love this little guy! and now, he comes in a fun set called, "for peep's sake" along with the sentiments "for peep's sake" and "to one of my favorite peeps" in a cute new font (i used my old stamp here), along with a spring chick, a buny with a basket and a couple of larger easter sentiments. lot's of cuteness in this one! for this card, i just stamped my peep 3 times, in 3 different ink colors, on a piece i punched and layered using my labels 4 nestabilities and then when the ink was dry i went over them with my quickie glue pen and sprinkled diamond glitter on top to give them that sugar loaded peep look!

(papaya ink pad, bubblegum ink pad, grass ink pad, french roast ink pad, quickie glue pen, diamond glitter, grass solid paper for card base, labels 4 nestabilities)

this is another awesome, go-to set! "happy everything" really does cover just about everything with mix and match sentiments and a cute triangle banner! i also love how large the words are! it makes it really easy to get a more masculine card if need be because it doesn't even really require an image stamp!

(french roast ink pad)

don't forget, one of the customers who places an order in my a muse studio consultant shop this weekend will win the "just my type" stamp set and R32 peach, BG10 cool shadow & W6 warm grey no. 6 copic original markers that i used in this how-to! just place an order this weekend and then e-mail me at missmorganteaches@gmail.com to let me know that you did so that i can make sure that you are entered into the drawing!

a muse studio - typewriter card step by step

you can now officially shop from anywhere, online, in my a muse studio consultant shop!

hey all! thanks so much for following along on my little consultant website launch journey! today, i'm going to show you how to make this cute. "typewriter thank you card." and, after this weekend is over i'll pick a lucky customer to win the, "just my type" stamp set and the 3 copics that we'll use to make this card!

the first thing i did is gather all my supples and pick a color pallet for my card. for this particular card i was inspired by those beautiful vintage royal typwriter colors we always see! the papers used are; slate solid, bermuda solid, vanilla solid, onyx gingham, school lined & bubblegum shimmer couture damask.

i love that the new a muse studio stamps are that quality red rubber that we all love, but with the ease of a cling stamp! another great feature, other than the fact that they come completely put together and pre-cut is that the image is printed on the cling part of the stamp, so it's super easy to place your stamp correctly! okay, on to our cardmaking!

step 1: cut a 1" x 1.25" rectangle of the school lined paper and use your slate ink pad to stamp "thanks so much" up towards the top and then distress the edges lightly with your tuxedo black memento ink pad. set this piece aside for later.

step 2: let's make our typewriter! go ahead and stamp your typewriter on vanilla paper using the tuxedo black memento ink pad and then circle punch it.

step 3: it's time to color, the photos above will make it easy to see what's what color wise as you go along. first use R32 peach to color the body of the typewriter. next use W6 warm grey 6 to color the return, space bar & sides of the keys. Lastly, use BG10 cool shadow to color the "inside" of the typwriter and tops of the keys.

step 4: now it's time to insert our little "typed" message. use your exacto knife to cut a slit along the bottom of the "paper roller". flip the typwriter over and put a small line of adhesive on the back, below the slit then flip it back over and slide your typed message in. lastly, put a small piece of foam tape behind the top of your typed message so that it looks like it's coming up out of the typwriter!

step 5: punch a scalloped circle out of slate paper and attach your typewriter circle.

step 6: make a bar 4 (3.5"x5") card out of bermuda paper by scoring and folding a 3.5"x10" piece in half.

step 7: cut a 2.5"x4.75" rectangle of onyx gingham paper and a 1"x4.75" piece of bubblegum shimmer couture damask and lightly distress the edges of both using the tuxedo black memento ink pad.

step 8: attach your onyx gingham straight onto your card so that it's even at the top and sides.

step 9: use foam tape or pop dots/squares to attach your scallop based typewriter onto your card so that it's to the right of your card and the bottom of your typwriter is even with the bottom of the gingham piece.

step 10: attach foam tape to your card as pictured above so that you can attach your "tabletop" paper at the same depth as your typewriter.

step 11: attach your bubblegum shimmer couture damask "tabletop" to the card so that it lines up nicely with the bottom of the typwriter.

step 12: cut a teal heart from the a sheet of heart twinkle stickers and stick it right onto your typed message. ta da! you're all done!

wasn't that easy peasy? think of all the different color typewriters you could make! i happen to be kind of addicted to this color combination right now, so i thought i'd share 2 other a muse studio cards that i've made using it!

scooter from the "ooh la la!" stamp set & sentiment from the "sushi & wasabi" set (which is another favorite!) also, don't you love that polka dot organdy ribbon? it's another addictive product from a muse studio!

umbrella from the "bridal beauty" set (i use this for all kinds of things, especially under the weather and bad day cards!) & sentiment from the "wild rose" set.

i hope you enjoyed my little step by step how-to! and don't forget, one of the customers who places an order in my a muse studio consultant shop this weekend will win the "just my type" stamp set and R32 peach, BG10 cool shadow & W6 warm grey no. 6 copic original markers that i used in this how-to! just place an order this weekend and then e-mail me at missmorganteaches@gmail.com to let me know that you did so that i can make sure that you are entered into the drawing!

don't forget to check back tomorrow for 4 brand new cards i've made to show you just how nicely a muse studio cards play with some of my favorite scrapbook papers!

friday five #42: a muse studio favorites

my a muse studio consultant shop is up!!!

before i share my favorites, i wanted to let you know about the changes to a muse's stamps. one of the best parts about a muse studio is that all the stamp sets come in a labeled dvd case and are totally pre-assembled cling mounted rubber! all you have to do when they arrive is open them up, grab the stamp you want to use and stick it onto an acrylic block! then when you're all done, just clean it off with a baby wipe and stick it back in the case! the switch from wood mounted to cling mounted means lower prices and easier storage with the same great stamp quality! anyway, on to my 5 favorites! i assure you that it was hard to pick just 5, you should see the length of my wish list!

01." foiled again!" - we all know that mustaches are huge right now, and i love this set because not only would these mustaches be awesome all fuzzy and flocked, but i love that they come with fun sentiments like "curses! foiled again!" along with a lot of really general sayings! (item #SBSP001)

02. washi tape - another huge craze right now! i love it bunched and folded like ribbon! there are 4 sets of 5 rolls available, one for each season! (winter set item #ESWW004)

03. "clever girls" - i think that this is set is going to be a sleeper hit! the sayings would be great with tons of images; "you rock my world", "dreams come a size too big so we can grow into them" and my favorite, "isn't it amazing what clever girls can do" and the images are pretty amazingly all purpose too! i can totally see using the clouds, bursts and sparrows on a ton of scrapbook layouts and cards! plus, i love the swirly acoustic guitar! (item #SISS014)

04. custom dies - not only does a muse studio sell some awesome spellbinders nestabilities sets, but they also have their own line of exclusive dies like these swallows and a set of sweet clouds (which are $5.95 a set!) there are also borders, ticket strips, triangle banners, butterflies, and die sets that coordinate perfectly with a muse studio stamp sets (which even come with positioning plates so you can cut your stamped image perfectly!) (swallows item #TAD0010 & clouds item #TAD0003)

05. "the perfect blend" - we all know that i use my a muse "to go cup" stamp like crazy (for just about every holiday and occasion) and now it's been re-released for a muse studio with an espresso machine, coffee mugs, a tea cup and awesome sentiments like, "thanks a latte", "let's venti", "how ya' bean" and "happy birthday to a regular joe!" among others! i can't wait to get this one in my hands! (item #SNSM047)

giveaway announcement!!!

tomorrow i'll be posting a step-by-step guide to making a really sweet typewriter card using all kinds of new a muse studio swag and i've decided to give you all a chance to win the stamp set & copic markers to make it at home! everyone who places an order through my consultant website this weekend (between now and 11:59 est sunday) will be entered into the drawing and i'll announce the winner monday morning here on my blog! (when you place an order please e-mail me at missmorganteaches@gmail.com to let me know so that i can make sure to enter you for your chance to win!) so, tune in tomorrow to get a look at the project and goodies and place an order for a chance at the prize!

you can access my a muse studio consultant store anytime by clicking on the a muse studio image in my blog's sidebar, or by going to; http://www.amustudio.com/missmorgan

coming this weekend...

it's time! this weekend is my big online a muse studio launch! crafty peeps may already be familiar with a muse's stamps from your local craft stores, i know that i have used them in pretty much every class i've taught. after 10 years, a muse has made a huge shift over into the world of home sales. now, the only place to nab some a muse goodness is through an a muse studio independent creative consultant like yours truly.

if you're in my area you can feel free to contact me about hosting a workshop, open house or catalog party. or, if you are close by, but not necessarily up for the hostess thing, although i assure you that it's easy-peasy, you might be interested in one of my 6 month stamp clubs. i won't type you're ear off with all the details right now, but e-mail me if you are interested! missmorganteaches@gmail.com

one of the best things about this new a muse studio launch is that if you aren't close by, you can still join me for some a muse studio fun! as of april 1st, friday, you will be able to shop for a muse studio goodies on my consultant website! so, even if we only see each other at trade shows or scrappy events, or are just blog friends, i can still help you out! i'm also planning on posting lots of little tutorials, projects and tips on my blog to get you as excited as i am about this stuff!

to celebrate the launch of my consultant website, which won't be visible until april 1st, i'll be posting a muse studio fun all weekend. here's the planned schedule;

friday, april 1st - friday five (a muse product edition) & giveaway details

saturday, april 2nd - i'll show you how to create a cute card start to finish

sunday, april 3rd - more great a muse studio samples

monday, april 4th - giveaway winner announced

i hope you'll join me this weekend!

inside my craft room: part two

welcome back! i hope you liked the peek into my craft room itself, but now onto organization! i know that most crafters are always looking for the best way to organize or reorganize their stuff, so i thought i'd share what's been working for me lately. my way is nothing close to the end all be all, but maybe it will inspire you!

this is a trick that's been around forever and something that a scraptasia customer told me about. it's just a simple over the door shoe organizer (although it was not so simple finding a clear one!) these aren't all my punches, but they're my basics (marvy plain circles and ovals and scalloped circles, ovals, squares and rectangles) i use them on so many of my cards!

since so many of my cards use these punches i wanted them close at hand. cheiron carries around a ring of these punch samples with her so that she knows what she has and what size punch will be perfect for each stamp or project.

then i took it another step and also saved and labeled the pieces i punched the shape samples from so that i can just hold them over a stamped image to figure out exactly what size punch i'll need!

i scored this stamp cabinet when we cut down on the amount of sample stamps we had at the store. i organized all my woodmounted stamps in the cabinet by season, occasion or theme and labeled each drawer.

here is what one of the drawers looks like just partially open! there is room for a ton of stamps in here. these cabinets are quite and investment, but i really love the look and how easily they store so many stamps.

i use 6x6" cropper hoppers to store my clear stamp sets that are 4x6"ish and of course have them organized with labeled dividers.

5x7" protect n store containers are the perfect way to organize all my smaller clear sets, individual clear stamps and completely unmounted rubber stamps by theme (yes, those categories are pretty ridiculous.)

for my cling mounted rubber stamps i use the thin stuftainers from stampendous and trim down and punch a hole in the stamps packaging so that i can attach them to the top of the stuftainer using a binder ring and easily leaf through to see the stamped images going the correct way.

this cute little panda container is from target and 2 rows of 6x6" paper pads fit perfectly!

for my pre-made card bases i use wood media crates from michael's! they are super easy to grab with a coupon and then just attach a fun piece of patterned paper to the visible bits to snazz it up a bit.

for my glitter, flocking and embossing supplies i use the two different depths of rectangular snapware.

both variations of the doodlebug glitter kits and the flocking kit all fit in just one shallow layer!

and you can also store 2 rows of stickles in each of the shallow layers and you are still able to see the colors from the side of the snapware. (i'm also working on color swatches of these to hang next to my desk!)

my buttons and brads are stored by color in those little supply organizers that you can easily find in the bead or sewing section of most craft stores.

my twinkling h2o's are stored in these cool nesting wooden trays from a shop called stamp hideaway that makes them themselves and ships! i love having them all in one place, and in rainbow order of course!

my ribbon bin is a little shameful as far as "organization" goes, but i don't mind sifting through for that perfect piece. i don't think there's really an end-all-be-all answer to ribbon organization quite yet.

for my paper i use 12x12" cropper hopper paper files. i gave them a general label on the front and then they are divided and labeled by company or holiday. i've gone through a ton of ways to divide my paper;bagged by project (back when i began), by color (in an idealist faze) and now this. i think this is the way i'll be sticking with.

cheiron also turned me onto these little copic shelves from studio 3 and i was really impressed when they came in the mail. they are so nicely constructed, and i love how the "shelves are mounted just slightly lower in the back so you're not accidently knocking markers out.

i think that the square snapware is the best way to store the dew drop sized ink pads.

and when you mount a little stack of scrap chipboard in the center and place your dew drops around it you can easily see all your ink colors while the container is still closed!

i use an old repurposed cd case to store my nestabilites. i bought a box of adhesive backed business card sized magnets and attached them to squares of paper labeled with each die sets name and then they slide perfectly into the cd sleeves!

ronda inspired me with her cutlery ink samples, but i tweaked them just a little bit and stamped an outline stamp with a more solid stamp inside so i could get the best representation of each color of ink that i have. these hang on the rail right next to my spot for easy reference.

last, but not least, i use the good ol' cropper hopper wheeled tower (i think from costco) for projects that are in progress, or at least pulled together already.

like i said, there's always some new organization idea out there, if you have one you think i'd be into, let me know! i'm clearly a sucker for organization!

inside my craft room: part one

the boy and i moved into our apartment in august and i've been pretty happy in my crafty room. until recently though, i had not been spending a ton of time in there since scraptasia closed and i wasn't designing classes and samples all the time. but with my newly (semi-) launched a muse studio venture (more on that soon!) and my new staff reporter status over at craft critique (yay!) i've found myself spending more and more time in my craft room and "that's," as martha would say, "a good thing!" as i've been spending more and more time in there i've also just about finished all the little touches and organization, and i've been wanting to share for a while. i was originally going to shoot a little video because i couldn't get pictures that were very helpful, but when sarah and simone visited at the beginning of the month simone luckily had a wide angle lens and shot these great pictures for me. thanks simone!

this is the view when you walk in the door. those little doilies on the side of my shelf are hambly and they always make me smile when i walk in the room. i'm lucky enough to have the corner room and therefore two nice windows for a whole bunch of natural light. oh! also, that couch there is actually a futon for guests, and that galleria quilt from garnet hill was actually my color inspiration for the whole room (and is currently on clearance.) you can't quite see, but the two walls with windows on them are a hot stone warm grey and the other two are the robin's egg-ish blue-teal.

i really, really lucked out this past christmas and my mom got me that wall mounted flat screen and the boy got me a new ipod dock and a tiny little dvd player, so my crafty time entertainment is totally covered. my "L" shaped desk is 2 unfinished ikea table tops that i painted just the edges of, and i love wheeling around in my fancy (not really, it's cheapie ikea) chair to get to my different table top tools!

those little cubby shelves (ikea) work perfectly for so many things and the fabric bins are all from target (including those 2 liberty of london ones.) the gallery lights mounted on the top of my cubby shelf are great for nighttime crafting! (do you like my cuttlebug doorstop? haha. i swear i use it for it's intended application as well!)

we all know that i'm a total organization junkie, and this rail system (ikea) and all that table top space really helps me out with that. those paper sphere lanterns are from ikea and those metal birdcages are from the good ol' dollar section at michael's, the stone grey/brown & white worked perfectly for the room, and for the third birdcage i just spray painted one that was originally orange!

i'm going to share a little more about all my little storage & organization set-ups and tricks on wednesday!

10 CHA faves + some extras.

l.a. was a weird, but good time! i highly recommend staying in little tokyo when you're in l.a. the amazing sushi, ramen (which i'm still dreaming about) and prime availability of hello kitty goods were all amazing, as well as the nearby yogurtland and weiland brewery! i had a great time with the craft critique girls and loved seeing a bunch of my other fave scrappy peeps. the c.c. girls kept me mostly sane during my flight home drama (4 canceled flights) and had a really great time seeing more of l.a thanks to sarah, and her cousin, who let me crash their family time while i was not-so-stranded in l.a. for an extra day.

the actual CHA show was pretty much a whirlwind, as always, and there was a whole bunch of new & inspiring things! now that i've had time to decompress i thought i'd share just 10 of my favorite new items/releases.

01.SMASH* from ek success - i pretty much fell in love with this the second i happened by the booth. i think my text to sarah went something like this, "ohmygodsmashbookdrooling." you can check out more pictures of the bits and pieces and my article all about it for craft critique here, the main break down is that there are 4 different styles of SMASHbook (at least now) that you use the SMASHpen (half glue stick, half pen) to SMASH things into the book with. then there are a whole score of cute accessories and embellishments to help tell your stories and save your memorabilia! it's kind of like a gateway drug to scrapbooking, or a modern approach to old school, o.g. scrapbooking. my favorites are the awesome date/saying stamp, washi tape with words, metal clips, pockets and the little jotters!

02. wrmk sew easy add-ons - i've already been loving my sew easy, but now there is even more to love; new floss (including bakers twine), new wider heads (including 2 different banner shapes) and a storage case that you know i'm dying to own! check out my full craft critique article here.

03. lawn fawn stamps - i'm loving this little company even more now that i've met the designer and friends who run it, they are so sweet and really love what they do! i really can't wait to get my hands on the "say cheese" & "critters in the forest" sets. i see so many cute paper piecing and copic marker-ing opportunities here! check out how cute their booth was, and some more of their new release in my craft critique article here.

04. hambly washi tapes - i didn't run across any scrappy ladies at the show who weren't loving hambly's brand new addition to their repertoire, washi tapes! they pulled from their new and existing paper/transparency patterns for the washi tape and it's something a lot of people, including me, are stoked to use, plus it was so fun to see a very pregnant allison, so cute!

05. sprinklers from october afternoon - awkward name aside, this mist-able paint, a new product for o.a. at least, is something i'm really interested to try out when it starts shipping. the basics are something i've already seen around the industry, but i'm pretty smitten with this set of colors here, especially "robot blue" which happens to match my nails right now. check out my october afternoon article right here.

06. "campy trails" thickers - it's no secret that i am thickers obsessed, and the fact that i'm picking just 2 new thickers fonts from the new american craft release is a testament to my desire to keep this post short-ish. i love, love, love the colors and fonts that coordinate with the "campy trails" collection. the "meadow" font is printed glossy chipboard, and usually i don't love all caps, but i am obsessed with the fact that these have a cream background. "forest" is woodgrain patterned glossy chip and just super yummy in general. you can check out the 4 new collections, and the rest of the thickers, in my american crafts article here.

07. crate paper's "portrait" collection - this is crate paper's wedding/heritage collection but i just see so many possibilities for this collection that it's crazy! the colors, patterns and chip bits are to die for. can't wait to get these in my mitts. crate paper's entire release from CHA is pretty awesome, if they can make me love a floral, they're doing something right. check out all 4 new collections in my crate paper article here.

08. new "double dot" patterns - the original double dot (tone on tone polka dots on one side, tone on tone distress on the other) has been popular for a while and now they have come out with 3 new double sided basics patterns! i love the new "journal" best and the hexagons on the backside of the "stripe" are pretty cool in some of the colors as well. i just think that the "journal" will make such a rad base for many a layout. you can see the rest of bo bunny's new stuff here in my craft critique article.

09. mme "stella & rose" - this is the newest rack collection from my minds eye and, as always, the colors are so saturated and beautiful i'm kind of drooling over them. 4 different color families, lots of new little bits and the 6x6" paper pads are pretty cool too.

10. maya road mini sets - most of maya road's new mini chip sets are pretty cool and have ideas spinning in my head already, but what really caught my eye were these two sets of mini canvas banners! i know that banners are everywhere, and they will jump the shark soon enough, if they haven't already, but these little canvas guys (they're only about 1.5" long) are really kind of precious, don't you think? how sweet would they be misted with splatters of pigment?!?

there is a ton more CHA coverage up on craft critique including tons of new companies from every crafty persuasion, and here are the rest of my articles from CHA;

* my cute stamps

* clip it up!

* webster's pages

* sassafras

* fancy pants

* making memories